These Are The Special Times
by wolfenqueenyuri
Summary: Christmas morning in the Gold household is eventful. Golden Queen AU. Holiday-themed fluff.


Author's note: Merry Christmas my fellow Golden Queen shippers! I hope you all enjoy this holiday-themed bit of fluff involving the Golds and their daughter, as it was lots of fun for me to write. Enjoy!

xxxxxxx

These Are The Special Times

Christmas arrived with the kind of cheerful morning sunshine that signified it would be a pleasant, yet brisk winter day.

Outside the mansion window, an unidentified bird chirped happily in an attempt to lure the inhabitants from their sound slumber.

Regina Gold was having _none_ of it, and grumbled sleepily before twisting away from the sun that was filtering into the master bedroom and curling more securely into her husband's warm arms.

Aiden nuzzled briefly at her hair, his embrace around her tightening as they settled in for a proper winter's nap.

Unfortunately the peace was quickly shattered when their daughter, Cassandra—who was known for her enthusiasm— bounded into the room and promptly began tugging at the covers.

"Mama! Papa! It's Christmas! Get up! Santa came and we need to see what he brought us!" If the sudden absence of warm blankets hadn't done the trick on its own: the decibel level at which their daughter spoke managed perfectly.

After shaking both her parents for good measure, Cassie decided that she had done her job and left the frazzled, very-much-awake Golds to lie there wondering if their child was human or something else entirely.

As soon as the seven-year-old was out of earshot, Aiden finally spoke. "What she doesn't realize, of course, is that "Mama and Papa" were awake all night assembling, wrapping, and arranging those gifts under the tree…and making sure to eat all the milk and cookies so she wouldn't be any the wiser that Santa does not, in fact, exist."

Regina groaned. "What time is it?"

Aiden rolled over and peered at the digital alarm clock before groaning himself. "7 am."

"Are you saying that we only got two hours of sleep?"

"Yep. Tell me: would you miss our child horribly if I sent her to another dimension until she was 18?"

"You'll do nothing of the sort," the mayor slapped tiredly at his chest before forcing herself out of the comfort of their bed. "Now, I'll go get some coffee started while you help Cassie with her gifts."

Aiden sighed heavily before replying: "Yes, your majesty."

Regina just shot him a look over her shoulder before tying the sash to her robe and venturing downstairs.

It was not terribly long afterwards that the pawnbroker followed her.

xxxxxxx

Cassie was already sorting through the pile of presents under the three when Aiden wandered into the living room, but she hadn't opened any yet.

"Hi there princess…looks like Santa outdid himself this year," Aiden's heart melted when his daughter sent him a beaming smile at his greeting.

"There are lots for you and mama too. Do you want to wait till she gets here to start opening them?"

"Well that's very generous of you," he grinned and knelt down to give Cassie a hug.

"What are you gonna do about mama's special present?" she whispered. "It's over at Aunt Ruby's."

"I tell you what…we'll open these up first," he gestured at the gifts. "And then I'll pop over next door to bring mama her surprise. Can you keep her distracted when I do?"

"Sure papa," Cassie smiled and pressed a sweet kiss to her father's cheek. "I'm sure she'll love it."

"Sure she'll love what?" Regina finally entered the living room with two cups of hot coffee, one of which she handed to Aiden.

"You'll see in a bit," Aiden rose to his feet and gave his wife a gentle kiss in greeting, which made Cassie giggle in delight.

Regina arched an eyebrow and glanced back and forth between her husband and her daughter. "You two are plotting something aren't you?"

She was rewarded with twin "innocent" smiles that confirmed her suspicions.

The former Queen rolled her eyes but gestured at the presents. "All right, angel: have at it!"

Cassie immediately dove into the pile of gifts and started ripping them open, promoting her parents to chuckle and sit nearby to unwrap their presents as well.

Before long there was torn paper strewn around the room, and Cassandra was reveling in all the toys and books and clothes that she had received.

Her favorite gift, by far, was the Elsa costume that her mother had found for her. Regina and Aiden had taken their daughter to see Frozen only weeks before and she had fallen in love with both the film and the character of the Snow Queen.

Of course, this tickled Regina greatly because she had visited Elsa from time to time in their homeland and she was nothing like her Disney counterpart, but she wasn't about to tell Cassie that.

"Mama, would you help me put the costume on?" Cassie exchanged a glance with her father that signaled that he should go next door to get Regina's gift.

"I'm gonna pop outside for a second while you dress up our daughter," he kissed his wife quickly on the cheek and winked at Cassie before heading off.

Regina gave her child a look. "He got me a new car, didn't he?"

Cassie just responded with as blank an expression as she was able. "I have no idea what you're talking about mom."

xxxxxxx

Aiden snuck back inside the house while Regina and Cassandra were preoccupied and took a few seconds to tie a bow around his wife's gift, and when he heard them starting to head downstairs again, he called out: "Cassie, have your mom close her eyes and lead her to the living room."

"Okay papa!"

He was amused by the sound of Regina grumbling in agreement, and then he was treated to the sight of his daughter, dressed up as Elsa, guiding her mother by the hand down the stairs.

"Oh you look beautiful," he grinned.

Cassie couldn't help gasping in delight when she saw Regina's gift in Aiden's arms. "She's gonna love it dad!"

"Okay the suspense is killing me; can I open my eyes now?" Regina muttered, which caused Aiden to chuckle and move forward.

"Just a second…" carefully, he placed the gift into Regina's arms.

She went still as she realized that it was something warm, soft, and _moving._

"Okay now you can open them," her husband instructed.

Regina's eyes flew open and she gasped in shock as she found herself face-to-face with an adorable King Charles Cavalier Spaniel puppy. "Rumpel! It's…is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a girl," he smiled at seeing the overjoyed look on his beloved's face and knew that he had done well.

"She's perfect!" Gently, Regina held the puppy up and giggled quietly when she affectionately licked at her nose. "What should we name her?"

"How about…" Cassie thought it over for a moment. "Anna!"

"You really are Frozen obsessed," Aiden shook his head in amusement at his daughter.

"Anna's perfect," Regina stated, cuddling the little dog close, and then crossing over to her husband to give him a kiss to properly show her gratitude.

"Then Anna it is," Aiden smiled warmly and pulled his wife close while scratching behind the puppy's ears. "I'm glad you like her. Merry Christmas."

Regina sighed happily and leaned into his arms. "Merry Christmas, my love."

With his free arm, Aiden pulled Cassandra into the family hug, and kissed his wife on her forehead. In his view: his greatest gift were the ones he had right there.

The End


End file.
